An Edinburgh cabbie who hit a pedestrian with his taxi while trying to beat a red signal has been allowed by the council to keep his licence.
Councillors heard at a meeting on Monday that Adel Amrouche struck a young man on St John’s Road in Corstorphine in March 2024 while the pedestrian crossed the road with the green man displayed.
The cab’s wing mirror struck the man’s arm and flew off the cab. The pedestrian landed on the ground, sustaining a fracture to his foot, as well grazes on his leg.
A police report presented to councillors said taxi driver, Mr Amrouche, had driven in contravention of a red traffic signal when he hit the pedestrian. Witnesses reported that the driver said he thought the victim was to blame.
The driver pleaded guilty to careless and inconsiderate driving in court on 30 September of this year. He received five penalty points on his licence.
His solicitor, Jonny Nisbet, said the incident was ‘unfortunate’, and a one-off occurrence during his client’s over twenty years driving a cab in the capital.
The incident came up as the taxi driver was trying to renew his licence. Police Scotland flagged it when they became aware of his application.
Mr Nisbet said Mr Amrouche, who was on the clock at the time, did not have a clear view of the crossing due to a bus in the left hand lane.
It was unclear whether the driver was carrying a fare when he struck the pedestrian.
After the collision, the report said Mr Amrouche stopped to pick up pieces of his vehicle, and then exchanged his details with the victim’s father.
Mr Nisbet said his client had thought he could “get through” the light at the crossing when the incident took place.
He had believed the victim was unharmed, and said he had seen a video recorded by Mr Amrouche which showed the young man standing upright.
He told the committee: “He can’t recall going through a red light. And certainly not deliberately.
“But he will admit that he thought he could make it through the light. The bus obscured his view somewhat. He would accept that this was poor judgement on his part.”
Conservative councillor Neil Cuthbert quizzed Mr Nisbet on whether the cabbie’s driving had breached the Highway Code.
He asked: “He thought he could get through the lights. Are you saying he saw the amber lights but chose not to stop?”
Mr Nisbet replied that if his client had proceeded through an amber light on seeing it, it would not have been an issue.
Cllr Cuthbert then said the Highway Code required drivers to stop before an amber light unless it was unsafe to do so.
Mr Nisbet repeated his earlier remarks maintaining that Mr Amrouche had experienced a lapse in judgement, and did not recall passing a red signal.
The meeting was punctuated by moments of confusion among officials and participants, and the police inspector who presented the report to the committee.
In reading out the report, he said that Police Scotland had put out an appeal for information about the driver of the cab after the incident in hopes of identifying the driver.
But he later said that he had confused Mr Amrouche’s case with a “very similar” one, and that no such appeal took place.
Councillors elected to renew his licence, though asked that a written warning be placed on his file due to the incident.
Cllr Mowat also noted that Mr Amrouche was scheduled to go through a refresher training course in January.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
